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Two waterborne vessels collide in the Mississippi River

ALLAMAKEE COUNTY, Iowa (KWWL) — The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is reporting on May 20th, 2020 at about 4:50 p.m., Lansing first responders were sent out to a crash between two personal watercrafts (PWC) in the main channel on the Mississippi River. It is reported that this happened just north of Lansing.

Tyler Wild (age 17) of New Albin and Clayton Little (age 17) of Lansing were operating separate PWC's when Wild was coming out of a turn and Little was going towards Wild down the channel. At that time, both PWC's collided head on. When Little's PWC hit Wild's, it went up over the top of Wild's which hit Wild in the head. Wild was then knocked unconscious.

Wild was face down in the water until Little was able to help him into a boat close-by. Wild was taken to shore where he was provided immediate medical attention. He was sent to a medical center in La Crosse, WI where he is recovering from his injuries. Little was treated on the scene and released.

“Slow down and watch for other boaters or personal watercraft and have patience! Operating too fast and too close to other vessels is one of the leading safety violations we see in Iowa.” said Jared Landt, DNR Conservation Officer. “Fortunately, both Tyler and Clayton were wearing life jackets when this collision happened or this could’ve been much worse.”

The DNR Law Enforcement Bureau continues to investigate. The Lansing Police Department, Fire Department and EMS responded to the accident.